One Direction
One Direction is a British-Irish pop boyband consisting of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. Former member Zayn Malik left the band in March 2015. They were contestants on the seventh season of The X Factor UK in 2010, and finished third. Despite losing, the group was immediately signed to Syco Music by Simon Cowell. One Direction's debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful" was released on September 11, 2011 and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one on September 18, 2011. It became the third fastest selling single of 2011, selling 153,965 copies. It's one of the best selling singles of all time. In five years since becoming a band, One Direction sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and were the first band to ever have four albums debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200. Four of One Direction's albums have sold over a million copies in the USA. As of 2015, they were the 2nd highest earning celebrities of the year, earning $130 million. Their fourth world tour, ''On the Road Again'', acquired over $188 million and saw the most concert tickets sold that year. On March 25, 2015, it was confirmed via a Facebook statement that Zayn had quit the band due to exhaustion and a desire to begin a solo career. He later revealed he never felt he fitted into the band and his preferred musical taste was different from the group's overall pop-rock sound. He released his debut single on January 29, 2016. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis continued the band, and their ''On The Road Again Tour'', as a four piece. On July 31, 2015, One Direction surprise released their first single without Zayn, "Drag Me Down". It reached #1 on iTunes in over 90 countries worldwide and was one of the best selling songs of 2015. On November 13, 2015, One Direction's fifth album "Made in the A.M." was released. It debuted at #1 in Europe and also spawned the top 10 singles "Perfect" and "History". 2016 Hiatus On August 23, 2015, tabloid The Sun reported One Direction were taking a break in 2016, but used the headline "This Is The End" which caused other media outlets to report the band was splitting up. Niall confirmed the band would be taking a break from touring on Twitter the next day, but said they had no plans to split up. Louis also tweeted his reassurance and both said they still had lots more they wanted to achieve as a band. This hiatus is the band's first and only break since 2010. Sony confirmed they will not be pursuing solo careersSony statement. The band has confirmed in numerous interviews they may write or produce songs for other acts, which Liam and Harry have already done in the past. Despite media outlets claiming the band is "breaking up", all four have continually explained this is simply a well deserved breakLouis and Liam talk the break, something all artists take. They've even expressed frustration with the continued assumption of a split; Niall stated, "It seems like no matter how many times we say that we are not breaking up, the more people are convinced we are breaking up, so I have given up trying to explain it. It will be good to be able to get home a bit more, because that really is the only downside of the gig.Niall's statement" The exact time frame of the break is not confirmed as the band want to be able to decide when they're readyLiam: "The break will be shorter than people think". They have suggested 18 months, one year and two years. The hiatus officially began on December 13, 2015. On July 21, Liam's sister Roo Payne said she believed the hiatus to be two years. Career Developments During 2016 Hiatus Liam: In early 2016, Liam began reworking on several collaborations with rapper Juicy J and previewed a song on Instagram. A Juicy J demo titled 'You', featuring Liam on the chorus, leaked on April 20, and was subsequently denied as an upcoming single by Liam himself. Liam and Louis provided their voices for a One Direction cameo on animated TV series "Family Guy", which aired May 15. In May, Liam attended various red carpet events with current girlfriend Cheryl Cole. It was reported on May 31 that Liam was currently not represented by any management, indicating, but not confirming a split from Modest Management. On July 21, Liam announced he had signed a solo contract with Capitol Records. He also tweeted "One Direction will always be my home and family" while his sister Ruth clarified on Twitter that he is not leaving the bandRoo Tweet. Harry: Harry split from Simon Jones PR and signed with DawBell PR on January 26, then split from Modest Management on February 1, his 22nd birthday. He is now managed by music mogul Irving Azoff's son, Jeff. In March, it was reported that Harry had landed a role in Christopher Nolan's July 2017 war film Dunkirk, and while news went unconfirmed, Harry was seen on set throughout May-July. Filming is scheduled through to September 2016. In late May, tabloid The Sun reported Harry may sign with Capitol Records. However it appears this deal was in fact for Liam, who announced his partnering with Capitol on July 21. More unconfirmed reports of an $80 million solo deal for Harry surfaced in June, but remain unsourced rumours at this point. Louis: In March 2016, Louis began scouting talent for his record label imprint. On May 15, Louis and Liam's voices were featured in a One Direction skit on Family Guy. On May 29, Louis appeared on behalf of Red Bull at the 2016 F1 Grand Prix. On May 31, it was announced Louis had split from Modest Management and is now represented by James Grant Group. On June 5, Louis competed against Niall in the Soccer Aid All Stars charity match, playing for England, who won the match. On July 20, Louis appeared alongside Simon Cowell on America's Got Talent as a guest judge. Niall: Numerous pop singer/songwriters revealed throughout early 2016 that they had either been approached to or had already written songs with Niall, some for other artists. Niall attended a number of sporting events, particularly golfing tournaments, and staged his own charity golfing event alongside Justin Rose on May 29, where he raised over $1 million USD for cancer research. Niall was assistant coach for the Rest Of The World team for the Soccer Aid All Stars match on June 5, opposing Louis, who played for England. As of August 2016, no current member of One Direction has officially released any solo work. Liam is the only member to officially sign a solo deal. On July 1, it was announced by the Silver Clef Awards that One Direction had won for Best Live Act. The band statement read "Thank you to all our fans for voting. Our live show is so important and it is amazing for this to be recognized... for the second time."Silver Clef Award They were announced as Forbes second place top earners of 2016 with $110 million to their nameTop Earning Acts. History 'The X Factor (2010-11)' Originally, each member auditioned as a solo artist for the seventh season of The X Factor UK (It was Liam's second time auditioning, he first auditioned in 2008). They each made it through to bootcamp, but were eliminated prior to judges' houses. The judges decided that the groups were not evenly split. So, they called back ten contestants they previously favoured but felt weren't strong enough to be soloists. Among those contestants called back were Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, and Louis. They were placed into a group and were allowed to continue competing. Following bootcamp, all five members of the band spent two weeks living at Harry's dad's bungalow in Cheshire in order to get to know each other.'We had to overcome our egos'. Digital Spy. October 6, 2010. One Direction were the clear favorite to win throughout the season, generating massive and unprecedented fan and media hype. Ultimately, they finished in third place behind runner up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle. Simon Cowell signed One Direction to his record label, Syco on December 13, 2010. Albums Up All Night (2011-12) One Direciton released their debut album, Up All Night ''on November 18, 2011. The singles released were "What Makes You Beautiful", "One Thing", "Gotta Be You", and "More Than This". Up All Night sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide and What Makes You Beautiful became one of the best selling songs of all time. Take Me Home (2012-13) In November 2012, One Direction released their second album ''Take Me Home, which includes the singles "Live While We're Young", "Little Things" and "Kiss You". The album reached number one in 35 countries. Midnight Memories (2013) In November 2013, One Direction released their third album ''Midnight Memories'', which includes the singles "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life", "Midnight Memories" and "You & I". Midnight Memories was the best selling album of 2013, selling four million copies. Four (2014) One Direction's fourth studio album, ''Four'', was released on November 17, 2014. The album was announced on September 8 along with a free download of promotional single, "Fireproof". The song acquired over a million downloads in 24 hours. The album only featured two singles, "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes". The album sold over a million copies in the USA and became their fourth to reach #1 on the US Billboard 200. Fans organised a significantly successful online project to promote album track "No Control" as if it were a single, which saw the song added to radio station playlists, featured in interactive video game Just Dance and eventually won a Teen Choice Award. Four was Zayn Malik's final album as a member of One Direction. Made In The A.M. (2015) One Direction's fifth studio album, Made in the A.M., was released on November 13, 2015. It was their first album without Zayn Malik. "Drag Me Down" was the first single from the album, released on July 31, 2015. It sold more than 300,000 digital copies on the first day of release and was #1 in 90 countries on iTunes. Two more singles, "Perfect" and "History" were released, and reached the top 10 worldwide. As was the case with "No Control" on the band's previous album, fans organized a successful online campaign to promote "Home", a song which did not appear on Made In The A.M., but was released on the Perfect EP, a short collection of remixes and acoustic versions. The campaign saw "Home" added to radio playlists and was nominated for a Teen Choice Award. Discography *''Up All Night'' (2011) *''Take Me Home'' (2012) *''Midnight Memories'' (2013) *''Four'' (2014) *''Made in the A.M.'' (2015) Films ''This Is Us'' was the first theatrical concert film about One Direction, detailing what life is like for the band as they tour the world. It was shot in 3D. Filming started in January 2013. It was released in most countries at the end of August 2013. This Is Us is currently the fourth highest grossing concert movie, grossing over six times the film's budget. The band's music video for "Best Song Ever" featured preview clips from the film, and the plot of the video centered around One Direction being asked by a Hollywood production company to film a movie. The band has made suggestive comments in interviews about the documentary being heavily scripted. "One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film" was the second theatrical concert film of One Direction, showcasing one concert at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, during the band's 2014 Where We Are world tour. The film was exclusively released to cinema for two days from October 11, 2014. While mostly centered around the concert, the DVD featured behind the scenes footage of the band rehearsing songs, while discussing their success so far and recording their fourth album. The footage also showed the band visiting Christ The Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro on a day off. The film broke the record for the highest grossing event cinema production with a net total of $15 million. Filmography Band Members Current members * Harry Styles * Niall Horan * Louis Tomlinson * Liam Payne Former member * Zayn Malik (2010-2015) Backing band 2010-2015 * Josh Devine – drums * Dan Richards – guitar * Jon Shone – keyboard, percussion * Sandy Beales – bass Concert tours Headlining * ''Up All Night Tour'' (2011-2012) * ''Take Me Home Tour'' (2013) * ''Where We Are Tour'' (2014) * ''On the Road Again Tour'' (2015) Opening act * ''X Factor Live Tour'' (2011) * ''Better With U Tour'' (2012) Awards and Nominations Since 2011, One Direction has won a total of 242 awards and has been nominated for 366. Some of the m ore significant awards include two consecutive American Music Awards for Artist Of The Year, won in 2014 and 2015. The band also won four BRIT Awards and four World Music Awards. Publications * One Direction: Forever Young, HarperCollins (February 17, 2011) * One Direction: The Official Annual 2012, HarperCollins (September 1, 2011) * Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction, HarperCollins (September 15, 2011) * One Direction: The Official Annual 2013, HarperCollins (August 30, 2012) * One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story, HarperCollins (August 27, 2013) * One Direction: The Official Annual 2014, ''HarperCollins (August 29, 2013) * ''Who We Are: Our Autobiography, HarperCollins (September 25, 2014) References See also: One Direction at the Boybands Wiki Category:One Direction Category:The X Factor Category:Songs Category:Studio albums Category:People Category:British people